Jen Brister raises awareness of presbyopia

Stand-up comedian and writer Jen Brister will be headlining a new comedy club next month to put the spotlight on a common eye condition that many over 40s live with. By launching the ‘At-Arm’s-Length’ Comedy Club, Specsavers aims to highlight the symptoms of presbyopia and encourage people to take action if they relate to any of the signs and behaviours.

Research, from Specsavers, reveals that 78% of over 35s admit to displaying symptoms of presbyopia, despite half believing their eyesight was good. In fact, there are more than 30 million people in the UK in the presbyopic age range, meaning they are at risk of the condition.

Presbyopia is the gradual loss of your eyes’ ability to focus on nearby objects and is a natural part of ageing. Holding something at arm’s length to read, increasing the font size on a mobile phone and asking to borrow people’s glasses were some of the most common behaviours people adopted to compensate for a change in their vision.

Aston spoke to comedian Jen Brister and Rakesh Kapoor, optometrist at Specsavers.

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